You are Carlton. You have a huge supporter base not only in Victoria but throughout Australia. You are languishing at the bottom of the ladder. You are subjected to the rigid rules of the AFL Salary Cap. The AFL knows that if you are winning games you draw a crowd. They want you to be competitive...but despite your credentials as a popular club they give you no tangible help. Despite your mediocre list the AFL gives you nothing apart from higher draft selections...which is just a lottery anyway. Free agents won't look at you much because they want to play in finals and play in Premierships.
High on the AFL wish list is EXPANSION. What do you care? The AFL expansion after all has probably helped to create your dilemma. You used to be seen as a power club, you had money and influence but the AFL has effectively cut you off at the knees with their socialist attitude to equalising the competition. The AFL has taken away your bargaining power.
........or have they?
You are a proud club. You wouldn't sell one or two of your home ground fixtures, surely?.....but maybe .....at the right price ?....
.....you realise the AFL wants to promote AFL Footy in NSW and QLD. You know you have a substantial supporter base in Sydney and Brisbane...unfortunately they don't see you play all that often....maybe that's just as well your hopeless anyway and don't look to have much of an immediate future..
..but wait!....Suddenly you get back to doing one of the things the Blues do best.....you cut a deal with the AFL.... ...You realise you can get a win-win for the Blues and the AFL... You agree to transfer one home game to NSW and one to QLD for the 2019 season on the condition that the AFL compensates you with salary cap concessions to rebuild your playing group.
Your Melbourne based fans shudder...they don't like it. We'd rather stay on the bottom of the ladder for the next five years than sell games to help the AFL expansion. ...But you ignore the fans and do it anyway....You climb the ladder...the crowds come back. You are happy the AFL is happy. During your rebuild you still have another 2 seasons of playing extra games in NSW and QLD. Then you are back challenging for the flag. Your supporters wear it...they get it... You grow your club by growing the game.
High on the AFL wish list is EXPANSION. What do you care? The AFL expansion after all has probably helped to create your dilemma. You used to be seen as a power club, you had money and influence but the AFL has effectively cut you off at the knees with their socialist attitude to equalising the competition. The AFL has taken away your bargaining power.
........or have they?
You are a proud club. You wouldn't sell one or two of your home ground fixtures, surely?.....but maybe .....at the right price ?....
.....you realise the AFL wants to promote AFL Footy in NSW and QLD. You know you have a substantial supporter base in Sydney and Brisbane...unfortunately they don't see you play all that often....maybe that's just as well your hopeless anyway and don't look to have much of an immediate future..
..but wait!....Suddenly you get back to doing one of the things the Blues do best.....you cut a deal with the AFL.... ...You realise you can get a win-win for the Blues and the AFL... You agree to transfer one home game to NSW and one to QLD for the 2019 season on the condition that the AFL compensates you with salary cap concessions to rebuild your playing group.
Your Melbourne based fans shudder...they don't like it. We'd rather stay on the bottom of the ladder for the next five years than sell games to help the AFL expansion. ...But you ignore the fans and do it anyway....You climb the ladder...the crowds come back. You are happy the AFL is happy. During your rebuild you still have another 2 seasons of playing extra games in NSW and QLD. Then you are back challenging for the flag. Your supporters wear it...they get it... You grow your club by growing the game.